Main street
An example of ATE farming in a hostile climate.
Assumptions
- climate conditions make the local environment barely capable of supporting life.
- late TL 8 early TL 9 start.
- initial resources where a small farming town. Including a rural supply store, local railway line, maybe a dozen small stores, a landfill and a small supermarket.

Notes
- well off community by ATE standards
- tried to make the crops/animals modular so they can be altered as desired to suit the game.
- a similar system could be set up in a high rise building, a new water source would be required though.
Geography
- local river
- town was a crossroads plus service street layout
- 2 or three commercial buildings that are more than 2 stories tall.

Description
Surrounded by a high wall constructed from railway iron posts and salvaged metal there are two towers built from a grain silo and a power pylon at each end of this well fortified farming community.

Upon entering through a short tunnel with heavy doors at each end you come out into an open space, your first impression is glass, lots of glass. The next thing you notice is pipes of all sizes going on all over the place.

Inputs
- water
- sun light
- wood
- lime stone
- Sulfur (presumably from car batteries)
- Salt and refrigeration technology
Water
- Spring, the town's spring is a reliable but small source of water. It is piped to a small artificial Wetland of about 90 square feet. That acts as an additional filter and an indicator of the water's quality.
- River, the river is the most bountiful of the town's water sources. It is also the most polluted. The exact composition of the pollution varies due to events further up the catchment so the purification is time consuming. The residents of main street use a combination of bacterial filtration to remove heavy metals (bacteria sourced from manure slurry), a limestone gravel filter to reduce the acidity and solar powered steam distillation using a parabola lined with broken mirrors.
- Bore, the town has a bore that requires a large amount of power to operate. The water as a result of rain acidity has become super saturated with iron. This is filtered by showering the water onto a sand filter and then passing it through a second activated charcoal filter.
- Rain, the rain fortunately is only slightly acid so it is run over limestone gravel to neutralize the carbonic acid, the CO2 given off by this reaction is saved to cool the radiation detector. The radiation detector is used when there is a westerly blowing.

Crops, most seed was salvaged from the scrap bin behind the supermarket or from one old ladies garden.
- potatoes
- Capsicum
- Tomatoes
- Carrots
- Beans
- Shallots
- Basil
- Cauliflower
These crops are grown in tubs behind windows in the old buildings all along main street's east-west main street. Every roof has either had a green house built on top or the roof has been replaced with glass.

The biggest "field" is in the old single story steel clad warehouse located behind the old farm supply store.

The open field crops are grown on low walled raised beds over a waterproof base. Each plant is protected from the elements by a car window, house window or clear plastic container (for example a water cooler tank)

Other features of Main street
- central composting storage
- methane extraction plant (salvaged from the landfill)
- chemistry plant (only in the most improvised sense)
- alcohol distillery
- small generator powered by a concealed water wheel

Indoor crops
- mushrooms, using the compost and the heat generated from the methane plant. Mushrooms are grown year round in every indoor space that doesn't get enough light for plants to survive. They store well when dried.

Livestock
- Pigs, distributed in as many buildings as possible are the town's pigs. They are descendants of high food conversion efficiency breeds that where farmed near by. They are fed carrots, eggs, mushrooms and any other surplus food.
- Chickens, fed cooked root vegetables, snails, worms.
- Fish, fed worms, snails, pig skin and other miscellaneous protein rich food. Usually housed in salvaged baths
- Snails and slugs, fed green leafy parts of the crops. Farmed in moist rooms on trays.
- worms, fed on compost-able plant material.

Should fit a book of Eli or mad max setting, work in progress.
Anyone want more crunch?
Further examples?
- in the dark
- very small space
- depopulated world
- "homestead"
- nomads

editAdding crunch, back of an envelope level of accuracy
- Assuming a late TL8 high yield potato variety with very few pests surviving, 50% of the space devoted to potatoes, the 300 by 200 yard walled off area produces two crops of maybe 80 tonnes each.
- Potatoes and beans are technically the same rotation when dealing with fungal challenges. So the growing medium is highly managed to maintain fertility and health.
- Beans are the next most common crop with an annual production of 8 tonnes, Individual bean plants are planted in almost every available space.
- The rest of the crops yield another 2 tonnes in total.
- The worms and Snails turn the approximately 100 tonnes of green matter plus scraps (including winter weeds) into 10 tonnes of protein and fat rich "slow meat" for chickens, fish and pigs.
- Mushroom production is in the area of 40 tonnes a year
- 120 pigs are reared for food per year, this consumes most of the mushrooms and 75 tonnes of potatoes, producing 6 tonnes of pork, (unsure of the estrus for pigs, presuming two litters a year)
- Overall the production is in the area of 100 tonnes of reasonably varied food per year. More than enough to support the population of about 100 people. Incredibly labor intensive.
- there is sufficient give in the system for Main Street to employ (feed) about 5 professional scavengers/salvagers/adventurers

Subterranean farmingAssumptions
- farming on the surface or in direct sunlight is no longer possible.
- the subterranean farmers ancestors had the opportunity to prepare
- long term food production will require artificial light.
- the "End" for this example is greatly increased UV (or microwave) output from the sun. Daylight is death as well as a great power source. You only go out at night.
- water is available and relatively pure due to filtration through rock.

Power sources, which ever power source is used it is assumed it is limited otherwise it is not really an ATE game.
- Chemical, finite so requires an external source, fuel, chemicals or biomass. Though a long subterranean path to a coal seam might be interesting.
- Nuclear, feels too bountiful for the setting, also seldom built underground near a large city.
- Renewable, solar (used in this example) other options include tidal and hydroelectric.

Notes
- It would seem likely that a more advanced infrastructure is required for two generations to have survived. They will need to be able to make replacement parts and probably mold plastic. This would seem to indicate a larger population, say 1000(?)
- Started with LED lighting but have been replacing it with standard bulbs since as they are easier to manufacture.
- to minimize heat build up in plants using photosynthesis the grow lights would be red/blue as green light is wasted in photosynthesis. The plants would look black instead of green.
- CO2 build up would be a problem, decomposing material generates a lot of it and there are few green plants to absorb it.

Resources
- A stable geological region located on the outskirts of a long established town.
- historic tunneling for minerals, WW2 defenses and civil infrastructure have provided the space for the settlement.

Description
Rushing to down the ladder before the fatal rays of the sun illuminate the world. You enter the myriad of tunnels and chambers that make up the farming settlement of Western Hills. Water pipes, electrical conduits and fans decorate the ceiling. Moisture glistens on the walls and is collected in gutters in the floor.
Crops- Fungi, a large range of mushrooms and Fungi are the backbone of the Western Hills farming system. The biggest limiting factor for many of the species of Fungi is the availability of a carbon rich substrate on which to grow. Four crops a year are grown. The growing chambers are full of shelves and kept insulated against the cold of the rock with a wide array of materials. Crude heat exchangers are mounted on the ventilation systems outside each growing chamber. Everything destined for eating would be exposed to a UV(b?) light source prior to harvest to generate vitamin D.

Livestock
- Pigs, fed mushrooms, mussels, insects and a bare minimum of green crops.
- Insects, harvested from manure chambers.
- Ants and/or termites that are fed Fungi
- Mussels, fed Cyanobacteria and used as part of the water system, they also act as a nitrogen fixer in this system.
- Fish, fed on mushrooms and ants/termites.

Management
- The system would require constant thermal control. Keeping Fungi warm enough as well as preventing the plants from getting to hot under the lights.

This is great (E) I'm defintly going to use these for my game. Hoping for a nuclear winter/ice age style example next!

Edit: Also the west hills kind of reminds me of a vault style shelter, but I get the feeling it's a bit to desperate for the safety and relative comfort I'd want to represent. Any chance we could see Higher TL (lets say 9?) shelter in better shape latter down the line?

I can imagine dropping them into a game, virtually unchanged, as detailed descriptions either of the PCs' home base, or of other settlements they come across during the campaign. I'm not certain that the player would want to go into this much detail about the precise farming methods all the time, but knowing that it was there whenever we wanted it would be really, really wonderful. And I think that we'd end up wanting to explore it, since we knew it was there!

I can imagine dropping them into a game, virtually unchanged, as detailed descriptions either of the PCs' home base, or of other settlements they come across during the campaign. I'm not certain that the player would want to go into this much detail about the precise farming methods all the time, but knowing that it was there whenever we wanted it would be really, really wonderful. And I think that we'd end up wanting to explore it, since we knew it was there!

Even if the players only learn about this stuff, peripherally, it adds an amazing sense of depth to the setting if you know what's on the menu at the local bar where they meet the old man or woman who plans to make them an offer they can't refuse.

Also, since this is a survival setting, identification of bottlenecks and shortages in local supply-chains and infrastructure can drive many, many adventures.

Moreover, if you know what surpluses one settlement has available, as compared to others, then you know how the local economy has started to shape up -- and that means you know where the merchants and traders come from and what they carry, and (roughly) how much each commodity is worth, relative to the others.

That helps a lot, when it comes time to add verisimilitude to a bartering session. :)

Assumptions
- Ice age related End
- Short growing season, not equatorial. Growing season for plants about 60 days.
- The ancestors of the current survivors had the opportunity to salvage the plants and animals that survived the early stages of the ice age.
- Sea level is lower and the salinity higher.

Notes
- While the default End for this set up is cold related, a heat related End would fit. Just move Kingsport to the Antarctic (added bonus of being far away from probable radiation in a nuclear exchange situation) or to the coast of the Arctic ocean. Add in a oil, coal or gas field that was serviced by plane.
- Some juggling could be done to replace cold with radiation, if so replace sheep with goats if the climate is warmer/dryer.
- This is a fairly large community, if traders could reliably carried supplies, this type of livestock operation would be done on a smaller scale in multiple locations.
- The high lambing percentage and fast maturing ewes would mean the breeding animals have a fast turn over, reducing the effects of radiation on the flock as a whole.
- May support a microlight plane.
- Complicated ventilation/heat exchangers on the main barns.
- Consumes 2 hectares of trees as fire wood per year, harvested from a forest that has been killed by cold, harvested by machine,

Description
The rusty ice encrusted gates crunch open just enough for you to slip through and close quickly behind you. You stomp your way through the snow to the heatlock on the hangar doors. The wool and plastic lined hangar is full of machinery, straw, the sound of sheep and the all pervasive smell of ammonia. A sentry, wrapped up in a heavy homespun jersey sits in front of a cobbled together drone control control rig.

The view that the drone provides give you a good impression of Kingsport even though it is locked down for winter. The two huge hangars each big enough to hold three A490s, The retractable greenhouses, the multiple domes of the geodesic wintering barns and the snow blanketed fences marking out the fields and paddocks.

Livestock and Animals
- Sheep, Primarily Shetland, East Friesan and Merino all with TL9 genetics. During the short summer they are taken to distant pastures to feed on the grasses that survive the cold. The shepherds use dogs descended from huskies and heading dogs or huskies and huntaways to herd the sheep. The armed Shepherds usually carry gieger counters, GPS/radio tracking equipment, thermal optics and drones to assist them in managing their flock.
The TL 9 genetics provide the sheep with worm and parasite resistance, a high growth rate when food permits, cold tolerance and most ewes produce two lambs with high sexual dimorphism. Big fast growing rams and smaller ewes that are robust and ready to breed at a young age. The sheep live outside for 4 months of the year, on a indoor grazing rotation for 5 months and in pens for the coldest 3 months.
- Geese and Ducks, a blend of wild and domesticated genetics.
- Cats, to control vermin.
- Dogs, as mentioned above.

Seasons
Due to the short growing season there are three months of nonstop activity to get all the outdoor crops from planting to harvest. Kingsport relies on machinery modified to run on the Bio-Aviation fuel it has stockpiled to get this work done. The old material from the sheep pens is spread on fields to increase fertility and to provide some additional heat as it breaks down. Oats and fodder crops are planted in fields that have been left fallow. The retractable poly-carbonate greenhouses extend along a combination railway track/fence to provide warmth for a longer growing season as well as an indoor environment for the sheep to graze in. When the weather gets too savage the greenhouses are retracted to avoid damage and the animals would be moved to the triple glazed geodesic barn complex*. The runway heating system is also used to increase the length of the growing season, heat from solar and decomposition sources is used.

Machinery is also used to harvest as much firewood as possible, most of which would come from long dead forests.

The cold makes food storage easy and as a result every year when the sheep finish grazing outside not quite 2/3 are slaughtered and processed.

Lots of insulation (wool) and the careful use of solar energy to assist heating supplement the wood fires to heat critical areas.

Require
- Additional Nitrates, the short growing season and fast growing crops would demand a great deal.
- Sulfur.
- Tools, machinery would be pushed to the limit for 3 months then repaired during the cold months.
- A greater range of seed.
- Entertainment, a long time spent indoors.
- Drone materials
- Will want another source of fuel
- May desire stimulants for the busy part of the year

The Dalton Mountain fallout shelterDescription
While the residents of Dalton are a strange group to say the least they have managed to maintain the extensive food production systems that were installed in there facility just before the End. Traveling up to the concrete walls you see the signs of several failed crops. Inside it looks eerily similar to the faded photos advertising "Family Restaurants" from crumbling magazines.
Bunkertech Modular food production system

Notes
- These are attempts at biological closed systems so sooner or later various toxins will build up or deficiencies will become insurmountable.
- No system is perfect and there will be gradual loss somewhere.
- The larger and more complex a system the longer it will last
- They can greatly increase the endurance of a shelters food supply

The Bunkertech food production system is a series of relatively self contained machines that produce something resembling food. The are designed to supplement the stored food in a fallout shelter. They are also useful for producing vitamins and other compounds that do not have a long shelf life (Some key vitamins do not last longer than about 6 months). While Bunkertech make a range of self contained models there would be many other makes and models.
Algae farm
- Key components, tank full of water, some trace elements, light and algae.
- Produces, spirulina (TL 7)

Bunkertech Food(tm) Foundation Unit (TL 9 ish)
a self contained algae farm the size of standard refrigerator that produces up to six meal equivalents per day. In the smallest shelters this unit can act as the entirety of the food production system. It consists of a housing containing two water filled tanks each with an oscillator and light source. An air pump provides CO2 while a PH meter and thermometer ensures conditions stay optimal. A hopper full of the various trace elements needed to support the algae serves both tanks. The algae is automatically extracted and dried then extruded into the collection bowls. Typically there are two varieties of algae, spirulina (high in protein, carbohydrates and some vitamins) and a bulk "filler" algae that is less rich and more filling. The extruded product resembles animal feed pellets but can be moistened and reshaped. There are a wide range of packaged flavourings available. Oxygen is also produced. Requirements
- Power, (though some models use sunlight to fuel the algae and solar power to run the other components)
- Clean water
- Nutrients, typically a powder
- Acidity regulators, Alkali conditions required
- Regular cleaning with chemical cleaners or a sterilizer. (weekly)
- Air, providing the CO2
- Starter algae
- Regular maintenance (once per month of use)Produces
- three "Food(tm) units" per tank per day. A food unit of "filler" algae equals a meal (measured by calories and space only), a food unit of spirulina equals two days worth of vitamins and protein. (not a complete diet though).
- Oxygen

Bunkertech Waste Reclamation unit
Produces some of the nutrients required for the Foundation (and other) units as well as drinkable water. Requires a moderate amount of power.

Bunkertech Food(tm) Auto-Chef
This unit is designed to further process the material from other units into a wider range of food like products. Simply fill the hoppers with the requisite raw materials, turn the dial to the desired meal and press the start button. A TV diner style tray will be filled with various recombined, molded, dyed, heated and artificially flavoured Food(tm).

Bunkertech Burger(tm) Unit
This is a self contained unit the size of a microwave houses a tube that is loaded with a nutrient rich growing medium or substrate dosed with spores for a GE fungus. When warmth and moisture are added the mushroom like fungus fills the entire tube and begins to grow out the open end. Once this growth extends eleven millimeters (half an inch) it is automatically sliced off leaving an exactly circular slab of meaty(tm) protein rich fungal matter. This is coloured and deposited in a small refrigerated compartment. The deluxe model has a small non stick cooking surface. The super deluxe model has a UV lamp that increases the vitamin D content. The Grand model has a selection of non cylindrical growing chambers so you can make square Burgers(tm). Several different Fungi have been developed for use in this unit.Produces
- Two Burgers(tm) per day Requires
- A small amount of power
- A small amount of water
- A prepackaged "burger" starter substrate or one Food unit of Red algae and spores every ten days.
- Monthly maintenance

Bunkertech Fish(tm) Unit
This unit houses a tank that provides all the everything required to raise a close relative of the brine shrimp (SeaMonkey). It automatically extracts, colours and compresses the shrimp into a selected mold. Standard molds include "Cocktail Shrimp", "Cube", "Crisp" and "Fillet" Produces
- Two Fish(tm) meals a weekRequires
- Starter
- One food unit of Blue Algae
- Monthly maintenance and cleaning

Bunkertech Desert(tm) Unit
This produces a range of Jelly like desert productsProduces
- two Deserts(tm) or Jelly Cubes(tm) per hour Requires
- One Food(tm) unit of light brown algae
- One Food(tm) unit of Purple Algae

Bunkertech Notbutter(tm) Unit
This is a more complicated unit that extracts and refines the oil content from yellow algae.Produces
-a small amount of almost margarine like product per hour. One stickRequires
- One food unit of yellow algae
- A considerable amount of power

Bunkertech Production Backup Unit
This unit is used to create the "starters" used by other units. It processes live algae, fungi and shrimp into long life "starters". Care must be taken to avoid cross contamination, failure to do so will result in a mixed starter, for example Bioluminescent Algae could get mixed with a White Algae starter.Requires
- A sample equivalent to one Food(tm) unit
- power
- relatively skilled userProduces
- Several hundred "Starter"

Bunkertech Sterilizer Unit
This is a larger unit that is used for the sole purpose of cleaning the other (disassembled) units without the added requirement of cleaning chemicals.
Requires
- A moderate amount of Power

Bunkertech Lifepack(tm) Unit
This unit takes existing Food(tm) heat treats it and seals it in tough plastic packets for storage or transport. Some models also irradiate the food for greater shelf life.Produces
- Long Life Food(tm)Requires
- Power
- Rolls of Lifepack(tm) plastic sheet.

Bunkertech Bun(tm) Unit
Works like a bread maker, uses white algae pellets, NotButter(tm) and jelly Cubes(tm) to make a bread like product.Requires
- One food(tm) unit of White Algae, one stick of NotButter(tm), one Jelly Cube(tm).Produces
- Four Buns(tm)

Produces
- Long lasting food of reasonable nutritional value and good appearance that lacks any real flavour.
- Many useful algae starters that could be used on a larger scale
- Potentially could provide a solid biological foundation for long term agriculture.
Requires
- Knowledge of farming techniques
- More artificial flavourings